Well-Known Member

You may be confused with "owners" not being eligible for WSIB. Or, owner operators that meet the WSIB criteria for opting out of coverage. Go to the WSIB website, it may take some digging but it clearly spells it out. Freight Broker is correct, if they simply drive a company truck they are employees just like anyone else and WSIB coverage is mandatory.

Site Supporter

Site Supporter

Back when we started and where all O/O here we opted out but a company policy was that o/o had to purchase outside coverage in lieu of WSIB. That is back 20 years ago but I still now of guys doing it. Outside insurance (we used NTL) was cheaper and better coverage as it also covered truck payments as well as a monthly stipend for pay.

I was in a car wreck about 6 months into buying my first truck and NTL payed my truck payment and me 3K for the 5 weeks I was off and the best part was Dad drove my truck and I dispatched (I could not sit longer than 10-15 minutes broken ass) and that did not affect the coverage at all as I was covered not the truck so the truck could still work and make money.

Site Supporter

This would be difficult loadbeaver. Even if you had a WSIB clearance letter on file for each and every owner operator, unless you are the only person running the show, you still need WSIB for your office staff. Family members are not exempt from this requirement unless they also are part owners of the company, I believe. Even if by chance you are the only person running the show and all the owner-operators had a clearance certificate, it would be difficult to convince a broker to accept your story. You could offer to send the clearance for the driver you are assigning to their load, but it would be a hard sell to get them to accept this. How would they know that the driver you are assigning is the one that has the clearance certificate? Then they would still want to see some sort of alternative coverage for that driver. This is a risk they generally are not interested in taking. In short, get registered with WSIB whether you agree with the basic principle or not. If your drivers are exempt then put your office staff on the account, you should already be paying premiums for them anyway. If you don't have office staff, then put yourself on the account and pay premiums on your salary. This will provide a the necessary paperwork to give to the broker. But it sounds to me like you might be trying to avoid paying for WSIB by any means you can find. That will be a big problem for you if/when they find out, plus you are shutting the doors on most reputable brokers as they will not let you work for them. You will not give them the feeling of legitimacy until you do. Get yourself educated about the requirements and for heaven's sake, pay the premiums required.

Member

This would be difficult loadbeaver. Even if you had a WSIB clearance letter on file for each and every owner operator, unless you are the only person running the show, you still need WSIB for your office staff. Family members are not exempt from this requirement unless they also are part owners of the company, I believe. Even if by chance you are the only person running the show and all the owner-operators had a clearance certificate, it would be difficult to convince a broker to accept your story. You could offer to send the clearance for the driver you are assigning to their load, but it would be a hard sell to get them to accept this. How would they know that the driver you are assigning is the one that has the clearance certificate? Then they would still want to see some sort of alternative coverage for that driver. This is a risk they generally are not interested in taking. In short, get registered with WSIB whether you agree with the basic principle or not. If your drivers are exempt then put your office staff on the account, you should already be paying premiums for them anyway. If you don't have office staff, then put yourself on the account and pay premiums on your salary. This will provide a the necessary paperwork to give to the broker. But it sounds to me like you might be trying to avoid paying for WSIB by any means you can find. That will be a big problem for you if/when they find out, plus you are shutting the doors on most reputable brokers as they will not let you work for them. You will not give them the feeling of legitimacy until you do. Get yourself educated about the requirements and for heaven's sake, pay the premiums required.

Site Supporter

It is certainly in your best interest to register with WSIB. As a freight broker, I cannot expose either my company or my customers to possible problems in the event you, or one of your drivers gets hurt while hauling one of my loads.